Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2023-6842 is a stored cross-site scripting issue in the WordPress Formidable Forms plugin through version 6.7. An attacker needs form-management privileges, normally administrator-level access, to store script in form label fields. The business risk is limited but real: compromised or overprivileged accounts could affect users viewing the injected page.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority remediation item, especially for multisite WordPress environments or sites with delegated form-management roles. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but stored XSS can turn an already privileged account compromise into broader user-facing impact.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-79 caused by insufficient sanitization and output escaping for the name field label and description field label parameters. It has CVSS 4.4, requires high privileges and high attack complexity, and has changed-scope impact with low confidentiality and integrity impact. Sources identify versions up to and including 6.7 as vulnerable.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on WordPress sites running Formidable Forms version 6.7 or earlier. By default, sources say impact is limited to multisite installations and installations where unfiltered_html is disabled. Risk can extend to lower roles if Formidable permissions allow them to create, delete, or manage forms.
Exploitation context
No active exploitation is cited in the supplied sources, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires authenticated access with sufficient Formidable Forms permissions, usually administrator-level. The injected script executes when a user accesses a page containing the affected form content.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports authenticated stored XSS in specific Formidable Forms label parameters through 6.7. The main uncertainty is the exact fixed version, which is not stated in the supplied bundle. Do not assume public exploit availability or active abuse without additional evidence.
Mitigation direction
- Check Formidable Forms vendor guidance and update beyond version 6.7 if a fixed release is available.
- Restrict Formidable form creation, deletion, and management permissions to trusted administrators only.
- Review multisite and unfiltered_html configurations for sites using Formidable Forms.
- Audit privileged WordPress accounts for compromise, sharing, or unnecessary administrative access.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using Formidable Forms and record installed plugin versions.
- Flag any installation running Formidable Forms 6.7 or earlier.
- Review Formidable settings for lower-level roles granted form management permissions.
- Inspect affected form label fields for unexpected script-like content.
- Confirm multisite status and whether unfiltered_html has been disabled.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2023-6842 mapping review
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Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N1.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/47e402c3-e06c-4ac9-8c60-5666cb1101ce?source=cveCVE reference
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&new=3017166%40formidable%2Ftrunk&old=3009066%40formidable%2Ftrunk&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.